Science & Technology

<p>Power plants that use natural gas and a new technology to squeeze more energy from the fuel release far less of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide than coal-fired power plants do, according to a new analysis accepted for publication Jan. 8 in <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014EF000196/abstract"><em>Earth’s Future</em></a>, a journal of the <a href="http://sites.agu.org/">American Geophysical Union</a>. </p>

<p>Ana Maria Rey, a theoretical physicist at JILA, a joint institute of the University of Colorado Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has been honored by the White House with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.</p>
<p>PECASE is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.</p>

<p>NASA Television will provide live coverage of the launch of Orbital Sciences Corp.’s commercial Cygnus spacecraft on Tuesday, Jan. 7 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, which will be carrying two University of Colorado Boulder payloads to the International Space Station.</p>

<p>The confidence of Colorado business leaders has increased slightly going into the first quarter of 2014 as economic conditions improve and some political issues have subsided, according to the most recent Leeds Business Confidence Index, or LBCI, released today by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.</p>

<p>Trees with smoother bark are better at repelling attacks by mountain pine beetles, which have difficulty gripping the slippery surface, according to a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder.</p>
<p>The findings, published online in the journal <em>Functional Ecology</em>, may help land managers make decisions about which trees to cull and which to keep in order to best protect forested properties against pine beetle infestation.</p>

<p>A new study showing that feeding mice a beneficial type of bacteria can ameliorate autism-like symptoms is “groundbreaking,” according to University of Colorado Boulder Professor Rob Knight, who co-authored a commentary piece about the research appearing in the current issue of the journal <em>Cell.</em></p>

<p>The bedtime you select for your toddler may be out of sync with his or her internal body clock, which can contribute to difficulties for youngsters attempting to settle in for the night, according to a new University of Colorado Boulder study.</p>

<p>A University of Colorado Boulder research center will launch two payloads aboard Orbital Sciences Corp.’s commercial Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station on Dec. 18, including a biomedical antibiotic experiment and an educational K-12 experiment involving ant behavior in microgravity.</p>

<p>From compostable heat to a custom-built, sensory playhouse, CU freshmen at this year’s Engineering Projects Expo on Saturday, Dec. 7, had a lot to show off.</p>

<p>Average smartphone users are willing to pay up to $5 extra for a typical application—or “app”—that won’t monitor their locations, contact lists and other personal information, a study conducted by two economists at the University of Colorado Boulder has found.</p>